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View synonyms for fatuous

fatuous

[ fach-oo-uhs ]

adjective

  1. foolish or inane, especially in an unconscious, complacent manner; silly; witless.

    Synonyms: dull-witted, dull, dense, dim, brainless

  2. Archaic. unreal; illusory.


fatuous

/ ˈfætjʊəs /

adjective

  1. complacently or inanely foolish
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • ˈfatuously, adverb
  • ˈfatuousness, noun
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Other Words From

  • fat·u·ous·ly adverb
  • fat·u·ous·ness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of fatuous1

First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin fatuus “silly, foolish, idiotic”; -ous
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Word History and Origins

Origin of fatuous1

C17: from Latin fatuus ; related to fatiscere to gape
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Example Sentences

Surely Americans, who are by our own fatuous self-definition fundamentally decent, would never attempt the unthinkable, no matter how angry.

On the face of it moving the talent to Soho can seem fatuous.

During one break in the filming, he was a fatuous British director, “exploring the essence of what we call cinema!”

And “alkalinizing” someone in an attempt to improve their health is simple-minded, fatuous, and dangerous.

I also won't repeat, or defend him against, all the fatuous charges leveled against him.

"They obliterated it with some fatuous piece of commentary about something else," Gough told the Guardian.

Each day he was sending serenely confident telegrams to Calcutta and receiving equally reassuring ones from a fatuous Viceroy.

If he be a little less than perfectly sincere he runs risk of being pretentious, fatuous even.

It was his great merit that at these moments, and in the presence of other people, he betrayed no fatuous emotion.

From its fatuous dream the nation was awakened by the noise of arms, the shrieks of women and the red glare of burning cities.

Mrs. Makely was one of those fatuous women whose eagerness to make a point excludes the consideration even of their own advantage.

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When To Use

What are other ways to say fatuous?

The adjective fatuous describes people or things that are foolish or inane, especially in an unconscious, complacent manner. Do you know when to use fatuous, foolish, silly, inane, stupid, and asinine? Find out on Thesaurus.com.

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